Several years ago, AgMoreThanEver ran a campaign called “be somebody.” It was a brilliant short video of farmers recognizing that somebody should say something – somebody should stand up for agriculture. And that somebody is… you. Me. Any of us.
Waiting for someone else to do the right thing often results in nothing happening at all. As John Stuart Mill put it in his 1867 address at the University of St. Andrews:
“Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing. He is not a good man who, without a protest, allows wrong to be committed in his name, and with the means which he helps to supply, because he will not trouble himself to use his mind on the subject.”
John Stuart mill, 1867, university of st andrews address
It’s never been an easy thing to do. Advocating for farmers increasingly comes with attacks, sometimes personal, from all kinds of social media. Some people deeply believe that agriculture is corporatized, monopolized, heartless big business that cares nothing for the environment, human health, or the land it uses to extract profit. This isn’t new: this has been the attack on “modern agriculture” for decades now. The so-called “Big Ag” boogeyman has done nothing but destroy.
Those of us who farm know this isn’t true. We know that most farms in Canada are family owned. Yes, they may be corporations, but that’s simply a tax strategy, and these corporations are owned by families – families that are building a legacy, building a farm business to last generations, just as their parents and grandparents did for them. These families are in it for the long haul, which means they must care for their soils and environment. No farm can be truly sustainable if it doesn’t do that.
The pressure that is being put on farmers to “share their story” is only growing heavier. Our numbers dwindle, even as Canadian and world populations continue to grow, making us a smaller and smaller percentage. Simultaneously, the ground has shifted under our feet: climate change is front and center, with all our previous problems funneled into that issue. GMO’s, pesticides, fertilizers; these were our fight five to ten years ago. Today, they remain so, but under a different lens: how they impact the climate.
Some say farmers haven’t really moved the needle on public perception. They say our work pushing back on this narrative has been ineffective and we need to “do more” to share our story. I disagree.
Most of the advocating that goes on is in the background. Yes, there are many farmers doing outstanding work sharing their farms and their stories on social media. Instagram and TikTok in particular are being well utilized by farmers to show the family side of their operations, to show people that these “mega farms”, as some like to call them, are run by ordinary people. Human beings.
Behind all that, though, are dozens if not hundreds of farmers involved with dozens of farm organizations. These are our commissions, which collect check-off dollars from farmers when they sell their products; they are our broader associations, which function through sponsorships, voluntary contributions, or even through our local municipalities and tax dollars. These organizations are constantly working on farmers’ behalf to better the industry, to share the great story that agriculture has, not just with government, but also with consumers and international buyers and processors.
The Commissions
Maybe I’m biased, but these organizations provide enormous value to Canadian farmers. I currently serve as Chair of the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission, one of the largest commissions in Canada. We collect one dollar for every metric tonne of wheat, durum, and winter cereals sold in Saskatchewan. This typically adds up to $13-15 million per year of income. We invest those dollars in research into variety development, agronomy, and post-production work to make wheat a profitable and sustainable option for Saskatchewan farmers.
That’s not all this commission does, though: we also invest in market development and market access through Cereals Canada, a national organization. We also invest in advocating, regularly meeting with provincial and federal governments. In fact, the federal agriculture minister, the Honourable Lawrence MacCaulay, travelled to one of SaskWheat’s director’s farm this summer, even riding in the combine for awhile!
We also provide extension services to farmers, with an on-farm trial program, agronomy advice, and podcasts. There is a lot going on at SaskWheat these days – all in service of the mission to support Saskatchewan farmers.
And we aren’t alone. There are several commissions similar to SaskWheat, such as Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, SaskCanola, SaskFlax, SaskBarley, and many more, just in this province alone. Other provinces have similar organizations, like Alberta Grains, Manitoba Crop Alliance, and the Grain Farmers of Ontario, just to name a few. All these organizations work towards better crop varieties, better agronomic practices, and advocating for a better policy environment for farmers. We often work together, through national crops like Cereals Canada, Pulse Canada, or the Canola Council of Canada, to develop a singular message. Even our provincial commissions here in Saskatchewan work together as “SaskCrops” when possible.
The Associations
I won’t even try to list them all, as there are many organizations working towards a better policy environment for Canadian farmers, such as the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS), the Grain Growers of Canada, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the Wheat Growers Association, and many more.
You might have noticed I haven’t mentioned anything other than the grain industry. This is simply because I know the grain industry best – it’s what I’m in. But there are a whole pile of groups representing beef, dairy, sheep, vegetable production, poultry, pork, and many more.
And there are organizations representing farmers on the world stage, as well, such as The Global Farmer Network, which help to create a voice for farmers, all around the world.
Some argue there are too many groups. I don’t agree. One thing I learned from the Outstanding Young Farmer program, which our farm was nominated for in 2023, is the exceptional diversity of Canadian agriculture. No one group could possibly represent it all. We need voices to represent each of us if we are to get our individual needs across. Yes, that means we can have differing opinions across the various groups. There’s simply no getting around that, though. And that’s okay – we need a variety of voices and opinions to come up with the best ideas and solutions.
These farmers spend their time trying to make things better. No one farmer could ever do this alone. It takes a village. It takes the collective effort of hundreds of farmers, along with the numerous fantastic farmers and ranchers sharing their operations to social media, their neighbours, families, and friends; all of this has to happen, all at the same time, if we are to push back against the unfortunate and incorrect narrative that continues to plague this industry: that farmers don’t care about their environment. Because we do. And people need to know about it.
Anyone can be a part of this. Anyone can contribute in their own way, either through social media, sharing their knowledge and experiences with neighbours and families, or by joining a crop commission or association. If you have the ability, and the time, and the interest, there are a thousand ways to get involved. You just have to find yours.
